Automobile body



Jan" 9 A. CARLSON AUTOMOBILE BODY Filed Ju 8, 1925 she 1 g toz F1 4- Jan. 2G, 1932. CARLSON AUTOMOBILE BODY Filed June 8, 1925 J x )A l I Z? 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 q E --F'1 gvwantoz TENT OFFICE.

ALEXANDER CARLSON, OF PIQ'UA, OHIO AUTOMOBILE BODY Application filed June 8, 1925. Serial No. 35,713.

This invention relates to the construction the left front pillar and door construction of of automobile bodies and particularly to an automobile body in which the present inautomobile bodies of the closed car type. vent-ion is incorporated, but it will be under- Une of the principal objects of the present stood that theinvention may be and prefer- 5 invention is to provide such a construction ably is also incorporated in the right front of the body pillars or uprights, and the assopillar and door construction, and that cerciatcd abutting parts, to improve the visitain features of the invention may be embility from the drivers seat, whereby the bodied in other portions of the body condriver is enabled to have a clear vision of struction.

lo automobiles or other approaching objects. The left front pillar comprises a lower Another object of the invention is to propillar section 22 which may be of Wood as in vide such a construction of the body pillar the conventional construction and is preferaand the associated abutting door and windbly of heavy section as shown in Fig. 4. shield members, that the combined Width of lpper pillar portion 23 is preferably @011.

15 these parts taken at right angles to the direcstructed of iron, brass, or other suitable mation of View of the driver is less than the tcrial and is of greatly reduced section as normal distance between the drivers eyes. shown in Fig. 3. The upper pillar member @ther and further objects of the invention 23 consists primarily of a plate portion 24 will be apparent from the following descripwhi h i xt d d d w w rdly t th l wer 29 tion taken in connection with the accom section of the pillar and set into its rear face,

panying drawings, in which: being secured to the lower pillar section by Fig. l is a side elevation o the forwa d means of bolts 25 or other suitable fastening part of an automobile body construction em m a Th a fac f th pillar constibodyiug the present invention; tutes an abutment for the edge of the door.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 2-2 The upper end of the pillar section 23 is pro- 7 of Fig. 1, the door being swung into Wide vided with a horizontally disposed rearwardopen position; ly extending arm 26 adapted to be secured Fig. 3 is a section on the line 0f to the longitudinal extending or side roof Fig. 1; rail 27, and a laterally extending flange 28 by Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of which the pillar may be secured to the cross Fig. 1; rail member 29 of the roof, thereby securing Fig. 5 is an enlarged side elevation of a the to f member f th b d securely nllar arts bem broken awa for clearness to the floor member.

in illustration; Referring particularly to Fig. 3, it will be Fig. 6 is a section taken on the line 66 noted that the upper pillar section is of subof Fig. 5; stantially Z-shaped cross section. The main Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view looking in body portion consists of the plate 24 extendthe direction 77 of Fig. 5; ing in a transverse direction and having a Fig. 8 is a front elevation of the upper flan e 30 extendin rearwarclly from the 40 part of a pillar constructed in accordance inner edge thereof to provide a rabbet to rewith the present invention ceive the door post 31, and having a portion 32 Fig. 9 is a section taken on the line 9-9 extending forwardly from the outer edge of Fig. 8: and thereof to provide a rabbet adapted to receive Fig. 10 is a diagrammaticview illustrating the wi d- 41 mm fr 33, It is to be. noted 45 the operation of the present invention. that the rear surface of the plate 24 abuts the Referring to the drawings 20 represents d f a 1 nd the front face 24 forms thefloor of the automobile body and21 rcprean abutment for the wind-shield frame sents the roof portion thereof which is sup Referring to Figs. 5, 6 and 8 it will be seen ported from the floor by means of a number that the upper pillar section is widened and ofpillars. In the drawings] haveillustratcd thickened at its lower end where it rests upon with the general outline' and design of the body. The upper pillar section is also pr'o- -vided at its lower end with a forwardly extending flange 34 which is set into the outer {side of the lower pillar 22 and by which the connection between the upper and. lower- ,pillar sections may be reinforced. Door hinges 35 and '36 are preferablyformed integral with the upper pillar section, as best illustrated in Figs; 5, 6 and 8.

zontally disposed frame members 40 and 41, a rear post member'42, abelt rail 43 and a lock board 44, all of which may be of conv'e n' tional heavy-section construction. The front post of the door comprisesa lower portion 45 which is disposed below the belt rail and which may be ofheavy-section and an upper portion 31 which is of reduced-section and which extends between the top member 140 i and the lower post portion 45.. The upper post section 31 fits into the rabbet formed by the parts 24 and of the pillar, and, like the pillar, is preferably formed-of iron, brass or other metal of'small section so as to offer the least obstruction to the vision of the driver of the automobile. As shown'in Figs. 3 and 10 the doorframe section 31 is of-substantial width laterally and the rear side, of this section' is beveled or cut away-at an angle to provide. a rear face extending substantially to the outside door joint. The rearmost part of the door pillar thus lies inward and forward of a plane passing through the 'drivers position and through a point substantially coincident with the door joint atthe outer As the door frame pillar the outer rear portion of the pillar section 23 for substantially itsfull thickness and the total obstruction, as viewed from the drivers seat is less in width than the interpupilary distance between the eyes, the construction will provide a minimum obstruction to the vision of the driver. m

The upper door section consists of a plate portion 47 which is set in or secured to the lower door post section andwhich forms therewith the edge of the door which abuts the plate portion24 of the pillar. As

.. shown in Fig.4 a flange 48 extendsrearw-ardly from the inner edge of the plate 47 and provides an abutment against which the lock board 44' may be secured. The lock board 44 is spaced suificiently, from the lower postfsection 45'and'from the belt;rail 43 to receive therebetween the window pane 52 which is carried by the door and which is adapted to be raised or lowered-inthe usualmanner. -The construct-ion illustrated constitutes asimple and rugged construction'for 5' the lower portion of the" door. and serves to .the wind-shield frame.

rigidly connect; the upper door section with the lower door section.

The plate 47 of the, upper door section is provide a reinforcement, and also a shoulder c The door comprises topand bottom horior wall 50'which together with the plate 49 forms a rabbet adapted to'receive the channel 51. This channel forms a guide for one edge-of the window pane 52. lnterposed be tween plate 49'and the bottom of the channel 51 is a sealing strip 53 which extends inwardly from the door and is adapted to en gage the flange30-of the pillar. A screw 54 traverses the plate 49, sealing strip 53 and the bottom wall of the channel 51 to secure these parts together, although it will be understood that anyfother'suitable form of securingmeans may be employed.

The sealing strip 53 has'a wiping contact upon the flange 30' of the pillar and seals the space between these .parts effectively lar against water or rain, the frame 33 is provided with a sealing strip 55 which may be secured in a rearwardly opening slot in frame may be formed of frame'inembers56 and 57 havin'g'spaced apart marginal flange portions to provide a groove for the re'ception of the sealing. strip 55. Bumpers 58 or buttonsflof shock absorbing material may be set into the pillar to abut theedge-of the wind-shield frame insuch-a-way as to offset any tendency of the same to rattle.

. From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the presentinvention provides a pillar, door post, 'and wind-shield frame construction of greatly reduced section, and one which offers little obstruction to the vision of the driver. The pillar is of solid Z-shaped section, a construction. which provides great strength for the available section. The front post of the door, which abuts the-rear face of the pillar, is of light,yet substantial construction and is strengthened or reinforced by the re'arwa'rdly extending portion which formsthel shoulder 50', but which does notreduce the vision of the driver. The wind-shield frame is setintoa rabbet in the The wind-shield fill lift

till

neaaeae front door post in such a way as not to ob struct the vision of the driver.

An important feature of the present invention is the fact that the combined width of the pillar, and abutting door post and windshield frame in a direction transverse to direction of view of a person in the automobile is less than the normal distance between the eyes of such person, and as a consequence all objects beyond a given radius from the pillar may be fully visible to the person in the automobile. This feature of the invention is illustrated in Fig. 10, in which the point 6l designates the normal distance between the eyes of the driver or other person in the auto mobile. The combined width of the pillar, door post and wind-shield frame at right angles to the view of the driver is 62 57, and this width is less than 60-6l. Lines of sight 60*62, and til-57 which pass through points 60 and 61 and which are tangent to the pillar and associated parts, intersect at ti-l thus forming triangle 6063 6l. It will be apparent that objects to the left of line tidti3 are visible to the left eye, that objects to the right of line 6168 are visible to the right and that all objects at 63 or further removed are fully visible to both eyes. The distance of the point 68 from the pillar 32 depends upon the thickness of the pillar and as sociated parts and upon the position of the person in the automobile, but with the construction herein illustrated and the person sitting in the drivers seat the point 63 may be as close as fifteen feet from the pillar 32.

ft is apparent that the present invention affords substantially full vision to the driver of an automobile since it is practically impossible for a person or an object such as another vehicle to approach the automobile without being visible to the driver.

While the form of apparatus herein described constitutes a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to this precise form of apparatus, and that changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined in the appended claims.

W hat is claimed is l. in automobile comprising a body door having a window opening in the upper part thereof, comprising, top and bottom frame members, a door post connecting said top and bottom members, said door post having an upper post section including a metallic plate secured said top frame member, a lower post section secured to said metallic plate to form therewith an edge of the door, a belt rail extending laterally from said door post, a flange extending from the rear face of the plate, a lock board secured to said flange, said loch board being spaced from said belt rail whereby to receive a window pane therebetween, a shoulder formed 011 said plate above the level of the belt rail to provide a rabbet at the inner edge of the plate to receive there in the edge of the window pane carried by the door.

2. An automobile comprising a body door having a Window opening in the upper part thereof, comprising, top and bottom frame members, a door post connecting said top and bottom members, said door post having an upper post section including a metallic plate secured to said top frame member, a lower post section secured to said metallic plate to form therewith an edge of the door, a belt rail extending laterally from said door post, a flange extending from the rear face of the plate, a lock board secured to said flange, said lock board being spaced from said belt rail whereby to receive a window pane therebetween, a shoulder formed on said plate above the level of the belt rail to provide a rabbet at the inner edge of the plate, a channel seated in said rabbet and adapted to receive an edge of the window pane which is carried by the door, and means for rigidly securing said channel in said rabbet.

3. An automobile comprising a body door having a window opening in the upper part thereof, comprising, top and bottom frame members, a door post connecting said top and bottom members, said door post having an upper post section including a metallic plate secured to said top frame member, a lower post section secured to said metallic plate to form therewith an edge of the door, a belt rail extending laterally from said door post, a flange extending from the rear face of the plate, a lock board secured to said flange, said lock board being spaced from said belt rail whereby to receive a window pane therebetween, a shoulder formed on said plate above the level of the belt rail to provide a rabbet at the inner edge of the plate, a channel seated in said rabbet and adapted to receive an edge of the window pane which is carried by the door, a sealing strip between the bottom of the channel and said plate, and means for securing said channel and sealing strip in position.

4:. In an automobile body of the closed car type, a pillar having a face adapted to abut the edge of a door, a flange extending from the inner edge of the pillar to form therewith a rabbet in which a door post is adapted to be received, a door post mounted to be swung into said rabbet, a channel having its bottom portion in engagement with the door post adjacent the inner edge thereof, a sealing strip interposed between the bottom of said channel and said door post and adapted to engage the flange on said pillar, and means for rigidly securing the channel and the sealing to said door post.

5. In an automobile body of the closed car type, a pillar having a face adapted to abut the edge of a door, a flange extending from strip v the inner edge of the pillar to form therewith a rabbet which a door post is-adapted to be received, a door post mounted to be swunginto said 'rabbet, the portion of the door post ad jacent said flange being formed as a plate, a j 1 sealing strip overlying saidplateand adapted 1 to cooperate with said flange a" channel adapted to guide a Window pane in the door,

' and means traversing said flange, sealing strip and channel for rigidly securing thesaid channel overlying the sealing strip and having its bottom wall bearing thereagainst,

sametogether.

,6. An automobile body of the closed type comprising metallic corner. posts rising ad- 'jacent the cowl to support the roof, said posts having horizontally disposed flanges to underlie and support frame members of the roof and also upright flanges relatively 'angnlarlydisposed'and secured to and assisting in maintaining the relative position of the frame members. p

In testimony whereof I'he'reto afiix my signature. 7 o ALEXANDER CARLSON; 

